WATERWAYS, vegetation, and habitats for some of the Gisborne area’s most vulnerable wildlife are set to benefit from a significant grant-funded restoration over the next three years.
Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell, Macedon Ranges Shire Council (MRSC) Council Mayor Dom Bonanno and Chief Executive Bernie O’Sullivan, visited Jacksons Creek earlier this year to celebrate the successful grant.
A generous sum of $838,295, funded by the Australian Government’s National Heritage Trust under the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program is dedicated to improving the ecological health of the headwaters of the Maribyrnong catchment in and around the Gisborne and Macedon townships.
Macedon Ranges Shire Council Mayor Dom Bonanno welcomed the funding.
“Council has dedicated environmental plans and strategies in place to support local conservation efforts, and the support of grants like this from the Australian Government are crucial to bringing these plans to life for the benefit of generations to come,” he said.
Native species populations to benefit include the iconic Gang-gang Cockatoo, platypus, and various grassland and creek-line species.
The project aligns with the MRSC environmental strategic plans including the Biodiversity Strategy 2018, Macedon Ranges Strategic Environmental Works Plan 2021, Environmental Management Plans for Bunjil and Howey Creek, and the Djirri Djirri Waterway Reserve – Revegetation Plan 2024.
Member for McEwen, Rob Mitchell said funding has also been dispersed Nationwide.
“We want to leave nature better off for our kids and grandkids – and that’s why the Albanese Labor Government is restoring rivers and waterways in our suburbs with a $200 million investment in the Urban Rivers and Catchment Program.
“This critical funding is good news for native wildlife and our community – improving the quality of the urban spaces that we all share and love,” he said.
The objective of the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program is to conserve native and threatened plant and animal species and waterways in urban, outer urban/peri-urban, and regional centres.
The project is due to commence this month and will be completed in 2028.